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Zynga Preps The Launch Of RewardVille: Earn Rewards For Playing Games
Jan 19, 9:16AM
Zynga is preparing to launch RewardVille. No, it's not another 'Ville' game, but a rewards program apparently designed to let users earn rewards for playing Zynga games - which you can then use earn virtual currency, which you then use for purchasing in-game items. Ok, let's take a step back.
Amazon Web Services Introduces 'Elastic Beanstalk' For Easier App Deployment
Jan 19, 8:16AM
Amazon Web Services, the cloud computing business of Amazon.com, this morning announced a new offering dubbed AWS Elastic Beanstalk, aimed to simplify the deployment and management of AWS cloud applications developed by third parties. AWS Elastic Beanstalk is designed to let developers upload their application and then keep their hands off while the system automatically handles the deployment details of capacity provisioning, load balancing, auto-scaling, and health monitoring, although AWS points out that they can still access and fully control the underlying resources at any time. Best part of the announcement is the price: there is no extra charge - customers pay only for the AWS resources needed to run their applications.
Yahoo Turns To The Enemy To Simplify User Registration
Jan 19, 6:54AM
"Yahoo is poised to let people use their Google Inc. and Facebook Inc. identities to sign on to Yahoo," says this article from earlier today. In fact Yahoo has let users create new accounts on Flickr with their Google credentials since last summer. It's been tested as part of an internal Yahoo project to spur user signups. A lot of people apparently bail out during the account creation process at various Yahoo sites. Part of the problem is that the process is lengthier than it needs to be because you're also effectively signing up for a Yahoo email account, too. Even if you never use that account. There's so much spam with email that there are a lot of extra steps with account creation. We've heard from sources that test has worked spectacularly well. After the addition of Google, account signups have increased by more than 20%, apparently, which is more than 10,000 new accounts daily that they otherwise would have lost. There's no promotion of this, that extra 20% is just from higher conversions during the signup process. Fewer people are bailing out.
DriveSmart Android App Plays On Parental Fears Of Teens Texting While Driving
Jan 19, 5:01AM
You just shouldn't text while you drive, even if you are a dextrous teen used to multitasking all day long. Yet people still do text (and Skype and email) while they drive, and not just teens (cough, Michael). There's not too much you can do about it. But Location Labs is coming out with an Android app for T-Mobile called DriveSmart Plus which plays on the fear of parents everywhere that their kid is going to wreck the car or worse while texting. DriveSmart Plus uses the phone's GPS to determine when a subscriber is in motion and likely in a car. It then disables the ability to read or send text messaging while driving and transfers all calls to voicemail or handsfree Bluetooth. The app is $4.99 and they are going to sell a ton of these, but it is not going to stop any teens who want to keep texting. The app has a big override button, which teens will be using a lot, even if they have to explain to their parents why they were overriding the controls. Parents get notified when the app is overridden, but I can already hear the excuses: "That wasn't me, Mom. It was Rufus. I was giving him a ride home and he grabbed my phone."
ReneSola Claims New Wafer Will Boost Solar Cell Efficiency To 17.5 Percent
Jan 19, 3:50AM
ReneSola (NYSE: SOL) a major manufacturer of solar products based in Jiashan, China announced this week that its new silicon-based wafer, dubbed the Virtus, boosts multicrystalline solar cell efficiency to 17.5 percent. The company plans to sell the Virtus Wafer to manufacturers of multicrystalline solar cells. Its earlier customers in this segment have included: Suntech Power, JA Solar, and ARISE Technologies. JC Solar, a wholly owned subsidiary of ReneSola which makes multicrystalline solar cells and modules, will both test and use the Virtus in its products, of course. Why is ReneSola shouting their un-verified wafer claims to the rooftops? Is this really a huge breakthrough? 
Next Question: Did Apple Surpass Microsoft In Profit Last Quarter? Or Will It Be Next Quarter?
Jan 19, 3:27AM
Earlier today, Apple announced their earnings for Q1 2011. The record-breaking numbers saw revenue surge to $26.7 billion — over $6 billion ahead of their previous best quarter (which was Q4 2010). But even more impressive may have been how much profit grew. Apple's net income was also a new record for them at $6 billion for the quarter. That's a full $1.7 billion above their previous record (again, Q4 2010). And it begs the question: could Apple have passed Microsoft in the one remaining financial stronghold this quarter as well? For years, we've all heard how Apple was so pitifully small compared to the behemoth that is Microsoft. Then something funny started happening: Apple started growing. Fast. But instead of focusing on market share growth, Apple focused on bottom-line growth. And soon Microsoft wasn't laughing anymore.
mDialog Enables In-Stream Ads For Roku Content Partners
Jan 19, 2:27AM
Whenever you're dealing with premium video content that's going to be distributed online, the most important question is always about money. Or, rather, how exactly the TV show or film you're distributing is actually going to make any. Case in point: YouTube Mobile didn't have any of VEVO's music videos for months despite the tight relationship between the companies, because YouTube didn't have a way to present them with ads. Then YouTube enabled pre-roll ads for some mobile devices, and now Android users can watch VEVO from their phones. Simple enough, right? But inserting ads into content isn't always as easy as it seems, especially when you're dealing with HTTP Live Streaming (HLS), which is typically used on iOS devices and plenty of other players. One company that's working hard to change this is mDialog. The mobile video platform allows content owners to upload their assets, flag when in each video they want an ad to appear, and then distribute that content to users. And today the company is announcing that it's added support for the Roku media player. 
Twitter Is Now Available In Korean, Its Seventh Language
Jan 19, 1:37AM
As of today Twitter users in North and South Korea can view Twitter.com, the mobile site and the iPhone and Android apps in Korean characters. Twitter has partnered with Korean web portal Daum to display Korean tweets on its homepage and Korean telcom service LG+ to make Twitter available on SMS. Twitter co-founder Evan Williams, who is apparently in South Korean capital Seoul at the moment, celebrated the milestone with the above tweet, which translated means "Twitter is a real-time global information network." 
HubSpot Heating Up, Sequoia And Google Ventures Looking To Invest
Jan 19, 1:13AM
Digital marketing startup HubSpot is close to closing a new round of financing, we've confirmed, that may put a valuation on the company in the $200 million range. Google Ventures is likely to invest, we've heard from multiple sources. And Sequoia Capital, which has recently shown an increased willingness to invest in later stage funding rounds, is rumored to be interested in the company as well. The company last raised capital - a $16 million round led by Scale Venture Partners - in late 2009. They've raised a total of $33.5 million to date.
"Squirrels" And 100 Other Reasons Why Tumblr Is Down
Jan 19, 12:52AM
With Tumblr recently experiencing a 24-hour offline stint and a reported single 9 of service reliability, there are plenty of jokes about the microblogging service's infamous downtime (most I've heard have at least a tenuous WikiLeaks connection). Here's the most Tumblr elaborate humor piece yet: Go to http://wellbebackshortly.com/ and hit refresh. Hit refresh again, and again.
You Still Can't Comment On Path Pictures, But Now You Can Virtually Wink At Them
Jan 19, 12:15AM
One thing that intrigues me about Path is that they're attempting to do things by thinking outside the box. There are too many services, especially in the mobile photo-sharing space right now, that are basically doing the exact same things. Path isn't. And this opens them up to some ridicule. And today's latest feature could very well continue that trend. Path has just added emoticons to the service. These allow you to respond to pictures your friends take with a smiley face, a winky face, an "O" face, a frowny face, or a heart. Nope, I'm not kidding. :)
Apple's Cook On iPad/Mac Relationship: "If This Is Cannibalization, It Feels Pretty Good."
Jan 18, 11:52PM
During the earnings call following Apple's blockbuster Q1 2011 results, a questions was asked about Apple's Mac business as it relates to the iPad business. The iPad business, after all, is growing much faster (and just overtook the Apple portable computer business in terms of revenue). So is it affecting the Mac business by eating into it? "Was there any cannibalization? Honestly, I don't know for sure. But yes, I think there is some cannibalization," Apple COO Tim Cook (who is the acting head of Apple while Steve Jobs is on medical leave) said in response. This echoes the thoughts Jobs had last quarter when asked the same basic question. "The iPad is clearly going to affect notebook computers," Jobs said at the time.
Apple Analysts Are Very Well Trained. Not One Asked About Jobs' Health.
Jan 18, 11:34PM
Apple just finished its quarterly earnings call a day after announcing that CEO Steve Jobs is taking a medical leave of absence. Yet not one Wall Street analyst on the call asked a singel question about Jobs well-being or even when investors might expect to learn more about the situation. It is as if the analysts knew that no such questions would be answered so they didn't even try. The closest we got was Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster who asked, "How far out do you guys actually plan?" COO Tim Cook wouldn't even give him a straight answer to that one. Here is his response, from MG's notes (bolded parts mine for emphasis):
Apple's iPad Business Now Bigger Than MacBook Business. Next Up: Entire Mac Business
Jan 18, 11:33PM
Apple had a lot of big numbers to share during their Q1 2011 earnings today. And while the biggest unsurprisingly belonged to the iPhone, the iPad numbers are also very, very impressive. How impressive? The iPad business is already a bigger business than Apple's portable computer business. That includes MacBooks, MacBook Pros, and MacBook Airs. And it's within spitting distance of surpassing Apple's entire Mac business in terms of revenue. Last quarter, Apple sold 7.33 million iPads. Broken down, they made just over $4.6 billion off of the product for the quarter. That puts it ahead of the $3.69 billion the MacBook business made for Apple during the same time frame.
Apple COO Tim Cook Dismisses Android Tablets As "Bizarre"
Jan 18, 11:04PM
Apple's iPad is a hit. The company sold 7.3 million iPads in the December quarter of 2010, a 75 percent increase from the previous quarter. But judging from all the Android tablets announced at CES, it is about to face an onslaught of competition. So far, though, Apple COO Tim Cook has "no concerns" with the tablets that are out there today, and goes so far to call current Android tablets "bizarre." On today's Apple earnings call, Cook characterized the competition as falling into two buckets: Windows-based tablets, which are "big, heavy and expensive" and suffer from "weak battery life," and current Android tablets, which are "scaled-up" smart phones. Here is his response to the question, based on MG's notes: 
In SEC Filing, Apple Stresses Jobs Will "Remain Involved In Major Strategic Decisions" During Medical Leave
Jan 18, 10:03PM
Apple just announced a blowout quarter, but what is still on everyone's mind is yesterday's revelation that CEO Steve Jobs will once again take a leave of absence due to medical reasons. In an SEC filing out out today, Apple submitted the same media statement it released yesterday, but it also re-emphasized JObs' continuing role. Namely, Apple highlighted: "As CEO, Mr. Jobs will remain involved in major strategic decisions during this leave of absence." This gives a strong indication that Jobs will still be calling the shots on things like the long-term direction of the company and major product releases to the best of his ability.
RightNow Acquires Natural Language Search Company Q-go For $34 Million
Jan 18, 9:47PM
Customer service experience company RightNow has acquired the Dutch natural language search company Q-Go for $34 million according to a news release this morning. The acquisition will improve customer experience in web search and site experience for RightNow clients. RightNow is also predicting that the acquisition will add $8 million in revenue for 2011 and improve earnings for 2012. Says RightNow CEO Greg Gianforte, "I am excited to add Q-go's solutions and talent to the RightNow organization. Q-go's leading edge technology has been proven to drive higher conversion rates, increase revenue and improve web visitor experiences for companies."
Apple's Insane Q1 '11: $26.7 Billion Revenue, $6 Billion Profit; 7.33 Million iPads, 16.24 Million iPhones
Jan 18, 9:39PM
Apple has had a rough couple of days. Yesterday, CEO Steve Jobs announced a medical leave of absence. As a result, the stock plunged today before rallying back to close down just over 2 percent. But this should cheer everyone up. Apple has just announced their Q1 2011 (their holiday quarter) earnings — and as many anticipated, they're massive. How massive? Well, coming off its best quarter ever in terms of revenue ($20.34 billion in Q4), Apple was projecting $23 billion in revenue for the quarter. The Street, meanwhile, recognizing that Apple always lowballs these numbers, thought revenue would be more like $24.38 billion. The actual number? $26.74 billion.
Adobe Buys Behavioral Data Management Platform DemDex
Jan 18, 9:34PM
Adobe just announced a big acquisition today; buying behavioral data bank DemDex. Terms of the deal were not disclosed in the release. Demdex, which launched in 2009, captures behavioral data on behalf of Websites and advertisers and stores it in a "behavioral data bank." The company then score each user across more than 40 behavioral and demographic variables to come up with a "traitweight," which helps websites segment their audiences better and advertisers target their messages more exactly.
IBM Beats The Street; Posts Record Revenue Of $29B, Net Income Up 9 Percent
Jan 18, 9:20PM
IBM released strong fourth quarter earnings today, posting record revenue of $29 billion, up 7 percent from the fourth quarter in 2009, and surpassing analyst expectations. EPS were $4.18, up 16 percent; an increase of 16 percent from the same quarter in 2009. Big Blue also posted record net income in the fourth quarter, $5.3 billion, compared with $4.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009, up 9 percent. Net income for the year came in at $14.8 billion compared with $13.4 billion in 2009, an increase of 10 percent. Diluted earnings were $11.52 per share compared with $10.01 per diluted share in 2009, an increase of 15 percent. Revenues for 2010 totaled $99.9 billion, an increase of 4 percent (3 percent, adjusting for currency), compared with $95.8 billion in 2009.
Comcast-NBC Merger: The Hulu Rules
Jan 18, 9:11PM
Both the Justice Department and the FCC have approved Comcast's monumental purchase of NBC Universal this morning. A cursory wade through the multiple press releases shows that the deal is full of conditions, as the FCC itself acknowledged that the merger could create threats to "to the development of innovative online video distribution services." Yikes. Of course this leaves people on all sides wondering what will happen to online video content site Hulu?
Keen On… Kevin Kelly: What Does Kevin Kelly Want? (TCTV)
Jan 18, 8:49PM
As Silicon Valley legends go, Kevin Kelly is up there with John Perry Barlow, Woz, Stewart Brand, Steve Jobs and a select group of dreamers, troublemakers and lunatics who invented the future that we at TechCrunch now cover every day. The publisher and editor of the Whole Earth Review between 1984 and 1990, the co-founder of the Hacker Conference, one of the founders of the Well in 1995, the co-founder and original executive editor of Wired magazine, Kelly has always been a step or two ahead of everyone else. So it was a tremendous honor for me to have Kevin come into the TechCrunch studio to talk about his life, his view of technology and his provocative new book What Technology Wants. In this first of two posts, Kelly talked to me about what Kevin Kelly wants and whether or not today's social revolution, which he kicked off fifteen years with the Well, was inevitable. Video ahead.
Pew Report: 53% Of Internet Users Believe Social Media Affects Politics
Jan 18, 8:43PM
Conventional wisdom holds that fans of the Internet are introverted losers with few discernable social skills who gain pleasure from being backward and apolitical. However, according to a new study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, that conventional wisdom is wrong. The study, based on interviews with 2,303 adults aged 18 and older, found that 80% of Internet users are active in voluntary organization or real world groups compared to 56% of non-Internet users. Of these same Internet users, 53% felt that social media helped them get a candidate elected to office while 46% believe that the Internet plays a major role in getting the word out about a cause.
Scribd Raises Another $13 Million, Aims To Bring Social Reading To Every Device
Jan 18, 8:00PM
Scribd, the document sharing hub that launched as a 'YouTube For Documents' and has since added other key features, including an online bookstore and a publisher analytics platform, has raised another big round of funding: it's just closed a $13 million Series C round led by MLC Investments and SVB Capital, with participation from existing investors Redpoint Ventures, Charles River Ventures, and Kinsey Hills Group. The round brings Scribd's total funding to over $26 million since it first launched in 2007 — it closed its $9 million Series B in December 2008. CEO Trip Adler says that the money will primarily be used to expand the team, which is current at around 45 employees. New hires will mostly come on the engineering side, with personnel also being added to Scribd's business development and sales teams. Adler also says that Scribd has an agressive product roadmap for the next six to twelve months — a key piece of which will be mobile. 
Exclusive: Ad Tech Startups Banding Together To Take On Google And Microsoft
Jan 18, 8:00PM
As the online ad technology industry consolidates, it is becoming tougher for startups to stand out among the giants. The 500-pound gorillas like Google and Microsoft keep integrating in new technologies and selling themselves as a one-stop shop to ad agencies, publishers, and brand marketers. But a group of ad tech startups is in the process of creating a counterweight to all the consolidation by establishing a consortium for sharing data and agreeing on standard ways to interoperate. Details are still spare on the yet-to-be announced group, but here is what I've been able to find out from industry sources. It will be called the Consortium for Accountable Advertising. The four founding members are Cross Commerce Media (Stephen and Heidi Messer's ad startup) , Clickable, MediaMath, and TARGUSinfo. They are actively recruiting other ad tech companies to join the consortium.
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